Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Given Buy Rating at Argus

Argus reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $185.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $183.58.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $159.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.19. Atmos Energy has a 1 year low of $154.72 and a 1 year high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.67% and a net margin of 28.50%.The firm had revenue of $879.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 8.46 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director William Ware bought 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,624,975,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,199,433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $775,719,000 after acquiring an additional 416,933 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,887,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $484,009,000 after acquiring an additional 47,860 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 40.0% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,823,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $314,171,000 after purchasing an additional 520,828 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $276,558,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation is a regulated natural gas distribution and pipeline company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers and is one of the largest natural gas distributors in the United States.

Atmos Energy operates through two primary businesses: natural gas distribution and pipeline and storage operations. Its distribution activities include acquiring, transporting, storing and delivering natural gas, while its pipeline operations provide transportation and storage services and support the company’s distribution network.

The company serves customers across eight states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.